They're Back
by Kagalei
Summary: AU. Elizabeth is Optimus's human daughter who thought she was orphaned after The Battle of Autobot City. When a message from Cybertron comes in, it changes everything.


"Hey, Autobots. What's shakin? Beside Galvatron when Prime shows up?" Elizabeth sat in the studio in front of a microphone. It was her turn for DJ duty on the show. "Yeah, I know. That was bad and if Galvatron's listening, I'm screwed in the next battle. Anyway, you guys aren't tuning in to listen to me talk, you want the music. Hey and be sure to call in and leave requests. Cause I can't do my job if I don't know what you want to hear. This song's called In the End by Linkin Park and don't forget those requests." She reached over and pushed a button on the control panel. As the music started to filter into the headset, she took it off. Elizabeth turned in her chair as the door opened and Blaster walked in.

"Hey, Blaster. Let me guess, that joke was so bad the I'm being kicked off." She smirked, knowing that wasn't true.

"You wish." He handed her a data pad. "This just came in from the communications tower. Seems someone's got an admirer."

"Let me guess. It's full of kind words for the show. Just a sec…" After pushing another button on the control panel, she turned back to the data pad. "Okay. Who hates me now?"

"Just read it." He turned to leave. "You'll like it." He called as he ran out the door.

"Unless it's got something to do with Dad coming back, I doubt it." Quickly scanning through it, she almost fainted from the shock. "Blaster! This better not be a joke!"

Said mech walked back into the room. "Unless that joke came from Cybertron, it's real."

"When are they going to be back here?"

"Two hours. Better let everybody know."

"You got it, boss." Elizabeth turned her chair back around and put her headset back on just as the most recent song ended.

"And that was Dig It by D Tent Boys from Disney's _Holes_. Okay guys, bare with me on this. I just got a message from Cybertron and according to it; everybody who died in the Battle of Autobot City has been brought back to life and are on their way back here as we speak. The shuttle will land in about two hours. If this is real, I say we give them a hero's welcome. If it's not, there will be a sign-up sheet for hunting down the prankster and killing them in the rec-room tomorrow morning. Blaster's requesting for everyone to be near, if not at, the landing pad when they come in. I don't know about you guys, but I for one will be out there. Until then, let's all hope this isn't just a cruel and twisted joke. For now, here's Six Feet from the Edge by Creed."

~1 hour and 55 minutes later~

"And that was Big&Rich's Eighth of November. All right guys, it's almost time for the shuttle to be here. This is Elizabeth signing out. 'Til all are one." The words were barely out of her mouth before Elizabeth ripped the headset off and sprinted down to the launch pad. Most of the base was already there. Snarl noticed her and forced some of the others out of her way. "Thanks Snarl."

"No problem. Snarl wants to know if Wheeljack's coming back." He knelt so she could climb on for a better view. ( A.N. So the Dinobots are nice to her, so what? They like her.)

"I don't know. I sure hope so. Don't worry. If he's not, you get to help kill whoever came up with this prank and I'll help you build a memorial. How's that sound?"

"Me, Snarl, would like that." He moved to the front of the crowd, near Blaster and Red Alert.

"Thought you would." Elizabeth patted Snarl's back. She glanced up to see Red Alert look away. Sighing, she looked toward the sky with sad eyes. Noticing a large black dot, Elizabeth pulled her visor out and zoomed in. "Hey, Snarl? You can zoom in on images, right?"

"Yeah." Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Of course the Dinobots could zoom in on images. Every mech with optics could.

"Zoom in on Quadrant 4, Section 9, Area 2. I want to make sure I'm not seeing things." Everyone around her quickly zoomed in right where she said.

"It's a shuttle." Sky Lynx stated.

"Yeah, but does it have them on it?" First Aid asked.

"Blaster, contact that shuttle. Find out who's on it." Red Alert turned to Blaster, taking command for the moment.

"You got it, Red." Blaster ejected the cassettes and transformed. "Autobot City to Incoming Shuttle. Autobot City to Incoming Shuttle. Do you copy? Over."

"Shuttle to Autobot City. What's up guys?"

"Was that…?" Hound started.

"Identify yourself."

"You guys can't tell who I am? And after all the hours I spent piecing you guys back together too."

"It is!" Sideswipe yelled.

"It's Ratchet!" Sunstreaker joined his twin.

"I'm not the only one either."

Elizabeth jumped down from Snarl's back. "Blaster, give them clearance to land." She ordered. "Everyone else, move back. They'll need a clear landing pad." Skydive picked Blaster up and carried him out of the way as he relayed the message. Once the landing pad was clear, the shuttle landed safely. As it touched down, almost everyone's hands went to their guns. The last shuttle's arrival fresh in their minds, no one was taking any chances. Everyone held their breath as the bay doors opened. Everything was still and quiet as the first person stepped into view.

"Dad…" Elizabeth breathed out; her hand falling limply from her gun. There, in all his glory, stood Optimus Prime. Elizabeth snapped out of her daze. "Autobots, ten hut!" She called out. Everyone snapped to attention. Blaster and Snarl transformed to their mech forms and snapped to attention as well.

Optimus surveyed the crowd before him. Not a single eye or optic in the crowd was dry. Even Snarl's optics had energon leaking out of the corners. Optimus glanced over his shoulder as Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Brawn, Windcharger and the others came out behind him. Rodimus stood by his side as the rest of the crew stood outside the ship.

"Officers on deck!" A voice yelled out over the landing pad. Immediately, all the Autobots before them saluted. Optimus searched for the owner of the voice. He found her standing right in front, between Snarl and Bluestreak. Elizabeth could barely hold in her tears of joy. He smiled under his mask.

"At ease." No one moved.

"Sorry, sir. But I'm afraid that we can't do that." Mirage spoke up, keeping his voice halfway under control.

"Why not?"

"Cause if we did, we'd end up bombarding all you, sir." Bluestreak answered, somehow managing to sound halfway calm.

"And we'd probably crush Elizabeth by accident." Red Alert supplied.

Rodimus snorted and had to cover his mouth to hide his smirk.

"Autobots, at ease." All the Autobots reluctantly lowered their arms. A few of them started to fidget. "Elizabeth, come here."

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth started out walking slowly but she broke into a dead-run halfway there. Optimus knelt down and opened his arms. Elizabeth ran into his chestplate, sobbing. "You're really back!" Optimus hugged his human daughter gently.

"Shhhh. It's okay now. Shhhh."

"And you managed to bring everyone else back too! I thought I'd never see any of you again!" Optimus smiled behind his mask.

"Did you seriously believe I would leave my men behind? Or leave you alone?" He asked standing up, supporting her completely.

"I missed you so much, Dad."

Bluestreak looked around before approaching Prowl. "Permission to hug you sir." He saluted.

Prowl saluted as well. "Granted." He smiled as the younger bot buried his head into his chestplate. "It's good to see you too, Bluestreak." Prowl did a very un-Prowl-like-thing-to-do, he hugged him back.

Snarl walked over to Wheeljack and didn't say anything as he tackled his creator.

"Come on, at lease we're warning you." Sunstreaker said as he and Sideswipe approached Ratchet.

To Ratchet's credit, he didn't back down or anything. He didn't even flinch. On the contrary, he opened his arms and embraced both the twins as they tackled him.

Everywhere you looked, someone was welcoming a fellow Autobot back. Whether it be from the battlefield or from the dead, it didn't matter. What mattered is that they were all together again. The war momentarily forgotten, the Autobots simply rejoiced at the fact that their brothers, and in some cases creators, were safe and sound at home. Back where they belong.

~Much, much, much later~

"What's up, Autobots? Besides everyone's spirits? This is an official welcome back from the dead to all you heroes of the Battle of Autobot City." Elizabeth was once again in the sound booth. She glanced up through the window to see Optimus standing in the office. He nodded his head in greeting and Elizabeth smiled as she continued with the broadcast. "This next one is called Stand by Rascal Flatts. I believe this fits the Autobots overall. After all, every time you get up and get back in the race, one more small piece of you starts to fall into place. After that is Roll On by Alabama. Well, I'm out of here. Catch me next time. 'Til all are one." She pushed a button and placed her headset gently on the control panel. Rewind came in as she was leaving.

"You know Optimus is waiting for you?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Rewind. Keep an eye out for any of the twins' requests, okay? You know how they get when they're happy." Elizabeth smiled as he nodded.

"You got it. Take care, Elizabeth." He patted her back as he walked into the sound booth and took possession of the headset she had just sat down.

"You too, Rewind. Night."

"Night." Was the reply as Elizabeth shut the door and walked quietly down the hallway. Optimus was waiting for her outside the radio station's rooms.

"Hey Dad." She said tiredly.

"Hey." He lowered his hand down so she could climb on it. Once she had stepped on it, he raised it to his shoulder were she promptly sat down. When he was sure she wouldn't fall he began walking towards the living-quarters. "You still seem sad. What's wrong?"

Elizabeth fidgeted a little. "You remember, the Battle of Autobot City?" She asked quietly. Optimus said nothing, knowing now was the time for her to talk and for him to listen. "Do you remember that you ordered everyone that didn't have extra armor-plating to get into a safe area?"

"Yes, you didn't listen to me and continued to fight. Almost everyone else did as a matter of a fact."

"You died saving me. It was my fault that you died. If I hadn't stayed out there, Starscream wouldn't have pointed Megatron at me and you wouldn't have leaped in front of me."

So this is what had been bothering her. Optimus sighed. "You know as well as I do that I was acting on instinct. Parents will do anything to make sure their children are safe. Even if it means putting their own lives on the line. I'm no different. My only child was in danger and there was only one thing I could do to save her. I would gladly give up my life again, if it meant saving you." Elizabeth said nothing as they made their way into their living-quarters. Optimus sat her down on the human-sized sofa. "Stop blaming yourself for the past, Elizabeth." He knelt down in front of her. "What's done is done. We can't change that. If you want to blame anyone, blame Starscream and Megatron. They're the ones that really killed me. You can even blame me if you want, just stop blaming yourself."

Elizabeth gave him a half smile. "Does this mean I get to shoot Galvatron?"

Optimus blinked. "We'll see. That depends on if your aim is a good as it was last time we were in the shooting range." He stood up and walked over to the wall. Placing his hand on the scanner, he opened the concealed door to Elizabeth's room. "Come on, little one. It's bed time."

"Night, Dad." Elizabeth said as she walked into the bedroom.

"Goodnight." Optimus turned to go to his room when Elizabeth's voice called out again.

"Dad?"

He turned back to look at her. "Yes?" He asked gently.

Elizabeth smiled a little. "Thanks. For everything."

Elizabeth was one of the few people who could read Optimus through his mask. She was also one of the very select few who had seen behind it. Optimus's mask slid out of sight to show his smile. "Your welcome." Elizabeth's door slid shut as Optimus walked into his own sleeping chambers.

The End


End file.
